Category Archives: Review Roundups

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 12/14

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THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

“Much like the book itself, any movie version of THE HOBBIT was going to suffer in comparison to its larger sibling. I loved it. Just don’t go in expecting THE LORD OF THE RINGS because it’s not and it can’t be.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“A bloated, unneccesary cash-grab prequel suffering from a fatal case of elephantitis. The first six chapters of J.R.R. Tolkien’s slender bedtime story are stretched out like silly putty into a 170-minute slog.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“When the film does jog into action, the camerawork is so frenzied (and looks so much like a video game) that you almost want to shut your eyes to block it all out.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

“One of the most excruciatingly boring movies out this year. If Peter Jackson couldn’t tell this slight story in a single film there’s no hope the other two in this prequel series will be any less bloated.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“A sluggish trek, a grueling experience, an exhausting ordeal that never seems to end and feels completely satisfied leaving its audience with essentially nothing in terms of story.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“Stretched paper-thin in terms of narrative and crafted with a much lesser elegance than the RING pictures. It also embodies everything terrible about Hollywood’s house-style franchise filmmaking.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“Jackson does an excellent job with balancing the adult action in the film
with a lighthearted tone which feels appropriate for younger audiences.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Chaotic and dull. The film looks like crap – over-lit and grainy, more like a video game than a movie. It made me want to puke.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

HYDE PARK ON HUDSON

“The script knocks down all these figures into borderline-pathetic caricatures. There’s no historical icon HYDE PARK ON HUDSON can’t turn into middlebrow melodrama.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“A tedious affair about a tedious affair. Taking great pains to remain inoffensive, the movie wears its slightness on its sleeve.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

“Less a peek behind the curtains into private, privileged lives than a marble cake of mild titillation and mild historical interest.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 12/7

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PLAYING FOR KEEPS

“Don’t worry, there’s a happy ending. But then again, any ending would count as happy as long as it brings this ineffectual fluff to a finish.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“Someone maybe should have told this guy if you want to rekindle a romance with a  woman, you probably shouldn’t start by sleeping with all her friends.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Did you ever heat up something in the microwave and miscalculate the time? The edges are nice and hot but as you start eating, you realize it wasn’t cooked all the way through?” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“Fox hasn’t penned a script since 1993’s SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER, and he apparently hasn’t left his home, either.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“The movie drowns most of its endearing factors with ugly moments thriving in the proliferation of heterosexual male fantasy.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

THE COMEDY

“For something titled THE COMEDY, this movie isn’t funny. Or charming, likable, enjoyable, or any other adjectives you would find splashed on a poster.” – Monica Castillo, Dig Boston

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 11/30

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KILLING THEM SOFTLY

“See where he’s going with this? It’s a smart allegory; ruined by the fact that Dominik doesn’t trust you to pick up on it for yourself. He wants to drive it into your skull with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“A better than expected entry for this week, perfect for those who prefer down-and-dirty crime films to overstuffed costumed productions.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, Northshoremovies.net

“About as on-the-nose as metaphors can get, but you can’t say the film doesn’t have the courage of its convictions.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“The closing punchline is such a knockout, you might forgive the lack of subtlety preceding it.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“It’s difficult to not find something to love within nearly every frame of KILLING THEM SOFTLY, a cool, confident crime drama drenched with a bitter cynicism.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

THE WAITING ROOM

“If people believe Mitt Romney’s assertion that emergency rooms are a solution for the uninsured, this is a powerful rebuke.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

 

THE COLLECTION

“Just buckets of the same old boring gore.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix
 

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 11/23

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LIFE OF PI

“To call Lee’s adaptation transcendent wouldn’t simply be a way to describe its impact; the film often seems to take place in a realm of stars and clouds, with majestic skies mirrored by the ocean’s surface.” – Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston

“The problem is that the stunning visuals are constantly undone by the screenplay’s dull literal-mindedness.” – Sean Burns, The Improper Bostonian

“One of the most frustrating films of the year. The whole movie feels like you’re taking a museum audio tour narrated by the older sister from DOUG.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Ah, the white man framing device. How unfortunate.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“It’s pretty clear after a while that this isn’t a story about survival anyway; it’s a story about finding God and it’s about as subtle as a sledgehammer.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“I often felt like I was watching the world’s most expensive screensaver. The spiritual elements run an obvious second to the spectacle when it comes to these storytellers’ priorities.” – Jake Mulligan, Charleston City Paper

“Taken on its own, LIFE OF PI is sometimes lyrical and challenging but, in the end, leaves us wondering why we were being told the story at all.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

“It turns out not to be about which miracle is greater – that is, the birth vs. resurrection of Jesus – but presents vs. eggs. Perhaps Christian theology is not the best approach for a Jewish film critic.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“A true surprise, this feature debut from storyboard artist Peter Ramsey isn’t the lump of coal I expected.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“It’s THE AVENGERS for childhood mythology. Okay, I’m on board.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“Way less farty poo-poo than other Dreamworks animated features, the film has a square-jawed elegance that occasionally hits a note of grandeur when it’s not just being silly.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman are particularly obnoxious in their characterizations, each of them hamming it up to an embarrassing degree.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

RED DAWN

“I don’t know what pisses me off more: the fact that it’s recruitment-baiting war porn, or the fact that it’s not even good recruitment-baiting war porn.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“The 1984 RED DAWN may have been a cheesy movie but it reflected the anxieties of its era. This version simply reflects a business decision gone bad.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“They could have made all the invading soldiers look like Blue Meanies from YELLOW SUBMARINE and it wouldn’t have made RED DAWN worth watching.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Someone needs to tell the writers that there are more words in the English language than ‘hard’ to describe tough situations. Invest in a thesaurus, people.” – Evan Crean, Reel Recon

“Especially in times like these, a stupid movie could give anyone the wrong idea. RED DAWN comes off as a very dangerous joke.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

 

HITCHCOCK

“Ron Howard usually is the one who abuses such hoary devices, and I doubt the Master of Suspense would be amused by their presence in director Sacha Gervasi’s biopic.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“If you recently visited the Alfred Hitchcock Wikipedia page you will likely understand most of the jokes. But that does not mean you will find them funny.” – Greg Vellante, The Eagle Tribune

“Insultingly stupid. I’d rather be watching Gus Van Sant’s PSYCHO remake.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Anthony Hopkins wears a fat suit and laughable prosthetics; portraying him as a fumbling would-be cuckold who used cinema as a means to leer at large breasted actresses. What a fitting way to pay tribute to a visionary.” – Jake Mulligan, Charleston City Paper

“None of the bumps the story hits along the way take away from the sheer joy of watching Hopkins and his fellow actors tear up the screen with their passionate performances.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“What we end up with is neither historical document nor drama, but something that smacks of backhanded idolatry via mimicry and, on occasion, reeks of farce.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

 

BOFCA REVIEW ROUNDUP: 11/16

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SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

“David O. Russell tries to toe the line between making something personal and making something that feels like it came off a conveyor belt. He ends up on the wrong side.” – Jake Mulligan, EDGE Boston

“It’s a goofy crowd pleaser with some pretty good performances and a carefully calibrated illusion of ‘edginess.’ It’s also offensive.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“Is he serious? Is all it takes to fix a painfully broken man’s mind the love of a woman he just met, a woman he’s mentally and emotionally abused for most of the film?” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Pat and Tiffany find emotional healing through the power of love, and although it’s overly optimistic, there’s something really charming about that idea.” – Evan Crean, Starpulse

“Yes, this is a romance between two people with mental problems. We’re supposed to find that endearing because, after all, you know how much fun schizophrenia can be.” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

 

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2

“Glorious. A slow-motion, fifty-thousand clown-car pileup of a disaster that’s funnier than almost any other moviegoing experience I’ve had this year.” – Bob Chipman, The Escapist

“A hilariously funny, wild and camp-strewn romp that manages to tweak the solemnity of the material with a knowing wink at it’s inherent absurdity.” – Tim Estiloz, Boston Movie Examiner

“Years from now a new generation of teenage girls will inevitably ask: ‘Grandma, you really liked this stuff?'” – Daniel M. Kimmel, NorthShoreMovies.net

“Of course this series is garbage, but by now it has calcified into winking, self-aware camp that eventually explodes into a craptacular of the highest order.” – Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly

“At a key point, coven leader Michael Sheen lets out a spectacular laugh, which nearly drowned out my own.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix

“It’s over. It’s finally over.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

 

ANNA KARENINA

“As jaw-dropping and audacious as the setting is, Wright is extremely careful to never let it dominate the story or the actors telling it.” – John Black, Boston Event Guide

“Wright doesn’t just believe in Brechtian distancing devices; he’s built a movie around them.” – Jake Mulligan, Charleston City Paper

“You’ll likely find Stoppard’s all-too-literal interpretation of the dressy role-playing of society life to be a cause for slowly mounting aggravation.” – Kilian Melloy, Kal’s Movie Blog

 

TALES OF THE NIGHT

“The kaleidoscopic backgrounds offer a colorful counterpoint to the simple silhouettes that form the people, animals, and mythical beasts populating the six fables.” – Brett Michel, The Boston Phoenix